‘We’re Only Human’: In Wake Of Penguins’ Slow Start, Trade Anxiety Creeps In

Losing is never a fun thing for any team in the National Hockey League.

But it’s especially taxing for a team like the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins, who could, potentially, have some big roster and organizational changes on the horizon.

As it stands now, the Penguins sit at 9-12-4, which is last in the Metropolitan Division. They are only five from the bottom of the league in terms of points percentage (.440), in front of only Chicago, Nashville, San Jose, and Montreal.

GM and POHO Kyle Dubas has been busy, frequenting other games – most recently spotted in Detroit – and already making some moves up to this point. He dealt forward Lars Eller to the Capitals for two draft picks a few weeks ago, and, most recently, he traded for a young forward in Philip Tomasino.

Changes are already in the process of happening. And, despite two straight wins this week – the Penguins snapped a three-game losing skid on Wednesday against Vancouver and won again in Boston on Friday – frustration on the ice and in the locker room has been apparent for much of the season otherwise.

Although they’re trying to take everything day-by-day, they are well-aware of the potential consquences if they can’t keep steering the ship in the right direction.

“Yeah, that’s all part of the game,” said defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who has been a frequent subject of rumors this season. “That’s all on us. Nobody wants to be in the position where there’s a lot of talk about the team. So, I think everybody understands what the business is and everybody knows what we got ourselves into. There’s not really too much talk about it, to be honest. I think it can creep in, but we’ve got to do our best to make sure it doesn’t.”

What often gets lost in trade talk and speculation – especially with struggling teams – is that these players are people. At the end of the day, they have lives, families, and personal matters to attend to outside of the rink.

Even though they do their best to drown out the noise, they hear it. They know what’s being said about them. They are familiar with the kind of talk that’s out there when a team is struggling to string together wins and establish an identity.

And, because of that – even though they maintain their focus on that day-to-day – there is some degree of anxiety that does creep in concerning potential changes.

“I think there is a little bit,” goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said. “We’re only human. You hear it, and you try not to listen to it, you try not to look at it, and you try to avoid it. But, obviously, it comes with the territory when you’re not in the position that you want to be in, when you’re near the bottom of the league, people start asking questions or start saying things.”

Nedeljkovic said they’re often aware of the nature of that talk as well. In a sense, the easy thing for fans and media to do is – like the players – treat everything like a business.

However, when that happens from the other side – and not the side of the players actually going through it – that “human” element is sometimes lost. In fact, the players, in a way, live in an entirely different world from that speculation.

And, unfortunately, some people – whether fans, reporters, writers, or broadcast personalities – don’t always recognize that there is a person on the other end of a tweet, a podcast, an article, or a comment.

“Sometimes, the things that are said are just clickbait, or people are just saying things because it makes sense in this unreal fantasy world that, sometimes, we like to live in,” Nedeljkovic said. “As much as it makes sense to you, at home, sitting in your chair, you’re looking up things on lineups and all that, and, ‘Ah, this makes sense if this team wanted to do this,’ like… that’s not how the world works, you know? And, if for some reason, or somehow, things work out a certain way like that, then it is what it is. It’s out of our control.”

He continued: “So, we just gotta worry about ourselves, take care of ourselves, take care of our own business, and it’ll just work itself out.”

Pettersson – who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on December 3, 2018 – recalled when he was traded to Pittsburgh. Having “no idea” that it was coming, he came back from a road trip with his team only to find out he had been dealt.

As someone who was just making his way in the league at the time, it was shocking but exciting, as he was making his way to a contending team. But Pettersson acknowledged that things are a bit different now that he’s more of a veteran player.

“I think as you get older, you think about those things more, and you understand how everything works a little bit better,” Pettersson said. “But, I’ve been through it here, too. A few years ago, when I was struggling, there was lots of talk. And you can’t really control that. What you can control is what you put on the ice. It is tough, and, like Ned said, it’s a human element. We all understand what happens when you go through tough stretches.”

Again, it is worth noting that the Penguins have won two straight games. They have a tilt against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, and they have a chance to win three games in a row for the first time this season. More and more streaks like that can go a long way toward instilling belief in a locker room that has, at times, been searching for answers.

But, make no mistake: No matter what happens, that belief lies in the guys that occupy the locker room in the here and now. So whether or not any of that outside noise and speculation prevails, each player will continue to focus on what they can accomplish together.

“It’s definitely out there, but there’s nothing we can do,” forward Noel Acciari said. “It’s a business. But we can win with these guys in the room. Once we realize that and kind of get into a rhythm, I think we’ll be in an okay spot. It’s on us to dig ourselves out. We put ourselves here, and it’s on us to get out of it.”